


Taking Care

by DianaandAlicia



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Found Family, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 08:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20355577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaandAlicia/pseuds/DianaandAlicia
Summary: With Alicia afraid to kill walkers and Al too afraid to step outside of the swat van after what happened with the landmines, Victor thinks that Morgan's "Help Everyone" bullshit is causing more harm than good. Wanting Alicia and Al to have a chance to heal, he takes the two far away, so maybe they can finally find a place that they can call home.





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Y'all! So, I don't really know where this story came from, to be honest. Last week's episode was fucking boring, and let's be real, Morgan's help everyone no matter what stuff is only going to end up causing tragedy in the group. I firmly believe that the group that we had at the end of 5A should have found a big home and focused on making a new life, only helping the people that come to them, and not going out and risking their lives for others. 
> 
> I don't know how this is gonna go so let me know if you want more. I kinda made it so it can be continued, but it could also be a oneshot if I never get any inspiration beyond today.

“Victor?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Al still won’t come out.” Alicia whispered, motioning to the swat van that was parked in the driveway. 

“Well, we got here two hours ago. She’ll have to come into the house for dinner.” Victor said quietly. 

It’s been about a week since Victor, Alicia, and Al had left the group. After the near-death experience that Morgan had with the minefield, Althea, who had to deal with landmines before in Iraq, was terrified out of her mind from PTSD, and she refused to leave the confines of the swat van. Alicia, who was still suffering from the trauma of the radioactive walker blood getting on her wasn’t getting any better, and she refused to leave the swat van too, not wanting to risk stepping outside and having to deal with walkers. 

Because both women were scared shitless and refused to leave the swat van, Victor decided that leaving the group and taking the two somewhere else would be best for their mental health. He knew that Al and Alicia wouldn’t be able to take living in a convoy with so many people and risking their lives to help people for much longer so they said goodbye to everyone, got in the swat van and got the hell out of Dodge before Morgan could try and convince them to stay. 

Wanting to get away from Texas and the possibility of running into Logan’s people, the three went north, and found a small house in Kansas that they wanted to settle in. It was a farm house, and the owners had either abandoned it or died. The previous occupants of the house however, were very progressive and they seemed like the kind of people who prepared for this thing, like the Otto family on the ranch that Alicia lived on so long ago. There were solar panels, wind turbines, running water, a high sturdy fence surrounding the property, and plenty of fields to grow crops. There weren’t any farm animals anymore, but there was plenty of game in the area so food wouldn’t be an issue. 

It was too good to be true. 

After moving all of their stuff into the house, it took Victor twenty minutes to coax Alicia out of the van, having to confirm and promise that there weren’t any walkers five separate times, and once she was convinced, Victor took her into the house and settled her in front of the tv, finding out that the tv and the VCR still worked. He hunted around and found a VHS collection of Disney movies. Right now, Alicia was contently watching Beauty and the Beast, feeling safer than she has in a few months. 

Althea however, was still in the swat van. She didn’t want to step on the ground, because of a risk of landmines, and no matter how many times Victor convinced her it was safe, she refused, stating that she wanted to live in the swat van. 

“I’ll go out and talk to her.” Victor sighed, getting up and going out to the van. 

He opened the door and saw Al sitting on her sleeping bag, looking irritated at the open door. 

“Alright Al. Time to come inside.” 

“No.” 

“Althea, I’m sorry but staying in the van for the rest of your life isn’t an option. You have two choices, you can either walk into the house, or you’ll be carried in.” 

Al pouted at that, and she shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. 

“Come on. It’s more comfortable in the house, and plus, we found some movies.” He said, trying to convince her to leave the van. “Please Sweetie.” 

“Ok.” Al said quietly, knowing that it was unrealistic to live in her swat van when a perfectly good house was twenty feet away. 

“Alright. Come here.” He said quietly, holding out his arms. 

Al walked over and as soon as she was standing on the steps of the back of the van, Victor scooped her up and carried her into the house so her feet wouldn’t have to touch the ground. 

Logically, Al knew that there weren’t landmines at the house and they weren’t going to blow up, but now, anytime they were near grass or dirt, she was skeptical. The only time Al wasn’t skeptical was if they were walking on a paved road or concrete, where it would have been nearly impossible to put a landmine after the societal collapse that this apocalypse caused. 

“Alright, Alicia’s watching a movie in the living room. How about you join her?” Victor suggested, setting Al down on the ground. 

The journalist looked cautiously around the house and spun around before bolting out the screen door to go to the van. Luckily for Victor, she stopped short, frozen on the last porch step, seeing that the only way to get to the van was by walking on the grass. 

When Victor opened the door and came out onto the porch, Al turned and looked at him, her eyes wide and teary, her lip quivering. 

Victor felt so bad for her, because she looked petrified. 

“Honey, it’s ok.” He said quietly. 

“I feel so stupid. I should be able to walk across the lawn to the van like a normal person but I-I can’t.” 

“Al, it’s ok. I understand. You probably thought that the landmines that you dealt with in Iraq were the only ones you’d ever see, especially once the world ended. What happened at that house, with you and Morgan, was out of the blue, you weren’t expecting it all. That experience triggered those past memories and it’s ok to not be ready yet.” 

“What if I’m never ready?” 

“Well Sweetie, it might take a little time, but that’s ok. We have nothing but time now. You know for a fact that I have not and will not put landmines out in the yard. Alicia is too frightened from walkers to even want to step outside so you know that she won’t do anything like that either. We can take baby steps, and eventually, you’ll be able to walk all over this yard without being scared.” Victor said calmly, being as gentle as possible with Al. The last thing he wanted to do was belittle her trauma and fear of landmines when she was obviously still having trouble. The same went with Alicia and her fear or walkers. 

Victor took the two out of their living situation to help them, and brushing off their fears or telling them to get over it would only make things worse. 

“How about we go back inside, that way we don’t have to look at the yard?” He asked, wanting to prevent something like a panic attack from happening. 

Al nodded in agreement and it wasn’t long before she was sitting next to Alicia, watching Beauty and the Beast while Victor took some of their rations out of the pantry to make supper. 

Because of their trauma, Al and Alicia have been having trouble when it comes to sleeping. They either can’t sleep for the life of them, or they fall asleep but wake up screaming from nightmares. Now that they were finally settled, far away from Morgan’s “help everyone” garbage and Logan’s oil field bullshit, hopefully this could be the start of the two women finally getting the rest that they so desperately needed. Because of this, Victor was planning on making an early supper and having both Al and Alicia tucked into their beds no later than 8:00. 

Not that he’d admit it to anybody, but now, especially with Madison and Nick gone, he saw Alicia as more of a daughter figure than friend. When they lived at the baseball stadium, he had a truck hidden and ready to go, only thinking about himself like always. After Madison, his best friend, reached her end, he could have gone on his own way, carving a life out for himself with this new world. But Madison was his best friend, and he knew in his heart that he wasn’t able to leave her children to fend for themselves. Even though Nick and Alicia were both adults, he was what Alicia called an ‘adultier adult,’ and he felt like it was his duty to make sure that Madison’s children were taken care of. 

After Nick died, leaving Alicia as the only Clark standing, those feelings intensified, and Alicia now feels like the closest thing to a daughter that he’d ever have. 

Now Althea, was a different story. She was ten years older than Alicia, and even though Victor had more than fifteen years on her, the age gap was still close enough where before Tess's house, he could only see her as a friend. After the close call with the landmines though, Althea’s vulnerability started to shine through much more visibly than before and the familiar feeling that Victor felt when he thought of Alicia as a daughter figure started to creep into him when he dealt with Althea now too. 

Even though he didn’t have as much of a history with Althea like he had with Alicia, he still felt that same feeling in his heart that told him that he had to help her, that he had to take care of her, and instead of going away after a matter of time, he knew that it’d only grow stronger. 

As Victor worked in the kitchen, the girls stayed in the living room watching their movie. 

“Alright girls supper’s ready.” Victor said, coming into the living room, happy to see that the movie was over, the end credits running up the screen. 

Al got up right away and went to the table, but Alicia stayed in her spot, curled up on the couch. 

“Alicia? Aren’t you hungry?” 

“Stomach hurts.” Alicia said quietly, curling up into a tighter ball. 

Victor leaned down and felt Alicia’s forehead, to determine if this was an illness or not. 

“Well, you’re as cool as a cucumber Sweetie. Where does your stomach hurt?” 

“All over.” Alicia said quietly, bringing her arms in closer to her body. 

“Do you feel like you’re going to puke?” 

Alicia shrugged, not really giving Victor much of an answer. 

“Do you need to go to the bathroom? It’s right down the hall, first door on the left if you do.” 

Alicia shook her head at that and just looked downright scared. 

“Are you having anxiety?” Victor tried again, knowing that it wasn’t that much of a stretch. Al’s anxiety of minefields while they were living in the swat van lead to multiple upset stomachs, causing the journalist to actually get sick a few times. 

Alicia nodded at that. “Are you sure that there aren’t any walkers in the house? Even in the attic and the basement?” 

“I checked every square inch of this house before I brought you in. It’s deserted. There’s no one, and nothing here but us.” 

When Alicia was quiet, Victor continued with a very important question. “Alicia, do you trust me?” 

When she nodded, he went on. “I brought you and Althea here to take care of you both and make sure that you have a peaceful place to start healing. I wouldn’t be doing my job for either of you if I brought you to a house infested with walkers and landmines, would I?” 

“No Victor.” 

“Exactly. I promise that I will try my hardest to make sure nothing hurts you two and I will continue to do that until my last dying breath.” 

Even though Alicia still had anxiety, she slowly got up and followed Victor into the kitchen. 

Suppertime was silent, since the three were busy eating and once all the food was gone, Victor noticed that Althea was moments from falling asleep, face down on the table, with Alicia not that far behind. 

“Do you two want to take showers before bed, or would you like to go to sleep now?” He asked both women, willing to do whatever they wanted. It was all about making Al and Alicia as comfortable as possible. 

Both nodded so while Victor was cleaning up in the kitchen, Al was in the master bathroom taking a shower, and Alicia was in the guest bathroom, taking her shower. 

Victor worked in complete silence as he washed the dishes and wiped the countertops and table down, and when he looked up, he was surprised to see Althea, all ready to sleep in a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. 

“What’s up Sweetie?” He asked, wondering if Al needed anything before bed. 

“Could you um……maybe……possibly come into the room and wait with me until Alicia comes in?” She asked, unsure if Victor would be willing to do that. 

“Of course. Go get settled, I’ll be right in.” 

Al gave Victor a grateful smile before going down the hall to the bedroom that she was going to share with Alicia. 

As soon as Victor had managed to get Alicia inside, she wanted to pick the bedroom that she was going to share with Althea. The girls had become fast friends since the group found the denim factory a few months prior, and now, especially with the traumas that each one was going through, they didn’t really want to be split up, even in a house with more than three bedrooms. 

Alicia had picked the bedroom that obviously belonged to two of the daughters in the family that previously owned the home. There were two beds with matching white lacy butterfly print bedspread, lined with pink ribbon. The two beds were big enough for Al and Alicia to fit perfectly fine, and if Victor had to guess, the previous occupants of the room couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen years old at the start of the outbreak. There were some dolls lined up on a shelf with a bunch of stuffed animals sitting on the bench of the window seat. 

The two reasons why Alicia picked this room were that even if the room had a window, it was small, and there was only one, so Al wouldn’t have to really see the yard and think about landmines, and Alicia wouldn’t have to worry that much about a walker busting through the window if one managed to somehow break through the fence lining the property. 

The other reason was that the girls that shared this room were probably the oldest children in the house. The other bedroom had a smaller bed and a toddler bed, with the room themed more to what younger boys would be interested in. That bedroom was right next to Al and Alicia’s room, with the master bedroom being right across the hall from it. The last bedroom was a nursery, with a white crib, adorned with the same kinds of decorations that were in the girl’s room, meaning that the little baby that once occupied the nursery was a girl. Alicia had told Victor that he could have the master bedroom because there were two big windows and she already knew that Al wouldn’t like to sleep in there. 

Victor met Althea in the bedroom and helped her settle into bed, even though she didn’t ask for help. He made sure she was tucked in tight, before doing the unexpected and dropping a small, gentle kiss on her forehead. 

By this time, Alicia was all ready for bed so Victor tucked her in too, doing the same to her as he did to Althea. After giving Alicia a good night kiss to the forehead, he walked over to the door. 

“Remember, I’m just across the hall, if you need me for anything don’t hesitate to get me.” 

“Ok.” Both Al and Alicia said, and Victor smiled. 

“Alright then. Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, Victor turned the light off and shut the door most of the way, leaving it open just a crack. He then went across the hall to turn in for the night himself, hoping that in the morning, the three could get to work so Al and Alicia could finally start healing, and that after all of these years, they could finally call a place home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
